Reboot Your Law Practice

We’re all busy and we all have different demands on our time. But for attorneys trying to reboot or develop their practices going to a practice development conference can be key. You can learn about new technologies; meet people in a similar position as you; meet folks who have been where you are and have grown their practices. Let’s face it, law school may teach us the law but it does not teach us the practice of law. The podcast hosts discuss how these conferences can be crucial to building your business and talk about what they have learned from them and applied to their practices.

This podcast discusses something many of us take for granted – our phones. But let’s face it, this is how our clients come to us; yes they may email us first or message us from a website, but they will always want to call in and speak to someone live. Scott and Oscar talk about what systems they use to not just answer and return calls, but to mine the data and information they can get from the calls being made.

We are all inundated by pop-ups and email messages from various sources telling us how to grow our practices using technology and social media. What’s real and what’s just hucksterism? This podcast focuses on what has worked and not worked for the hosts and what core messages we can take from those ads that are telling us what basic areas we need to focus on to expand our client base and income. Scott and Oscar discuss specific steps they have taken and how they have tailored their social media to attract more of the clients they want. The bottom line is that you need to spend time and energy thinking about using tech and not just follow every carrot placed in front of you

The podcast hosts talk about their woes in dealing with client communication. Some clients who after spending a lot of time with you, don’t retain you; others who don’t want to hear the information you are giving them; and still others who simply want to take up all of your time talking about things that are perhaps important to them but which don’t relate to the case at hand or advance their cause. Solo and small firms have to make sure to balance giving your clients enough time and opportunity to communicate with the other time demands facing your firm.

This episode discusses whether listeners should offer a free consultation to prospective clients or charge for them. Host Oscar Michelen recently started charging for initial consultations while Host Scott Limmer offers free consultations. The hosts engage in a spirited back and forth discussion as to why they chose each particular method and why works for them. Listeners can gain insight from the talk as to which method would work best for their practice.

Oscar gets the discussion going this week talking about what he learned from a review of old files from his prior firm that had been in storage in his house for the past seven years.  In talking about it with Scott, he discusses what he should have been able to see about his practice and its marketing efforts had he paid attention. That leads to the hosts talking about the need to be mindful and to analyze what you are doing in your marketing efforts. Don’t just keep trying new things without putting in the effort of looking at what you have done before and what worked and didn’t. When starting a new marketing effort, don’t do it unless have you thought about:   Who am I trying to reach? Leads? Referral partners? Paying clients? All of the above? Will this plan reach them? Will this content be meaningful to them? How much will it cost and I can I carry it if it is unsuccessful? How long do I need to run the campaign for me to be satisfied that I have given it the full time that it needs?

There are many sources of information available to you to help you grow your practice: books, magazine articles, blogs, podcasts like this one. The hosts talk about sources they use to get thoughtful advice on business development. The material does not have to be law-firm related, in fact its better that your first foray into reading to improve your practice not be law-related.  Books on entrepreneurship, money management and organizational methods are the most helpful at first to get you in the right mind set. Apply thought to your re-boot and look for advice that’s out there waiting for you to find it. 

This week’s episode finds our podcast hosts both comfortably rested from Anguilla vacations and once again pondering what “The Next Big Thing” is for law practices. Scott and Oscar talk about how the Hollywood industry and Las Vegas both rose out of nothing, filling a void no one saw that was there to be seen. While in some sense LegalZoom and Avvo have done that for the practice of law, there really hasn’t been a “Sea change” in the way law is practiced; these examples tell us however that such an event may be right around the corner. Will you be ready? Will you even recognize it? More importantly, perhaps its best to focus on what the big change to your practice maybe that is right there for you to find if you just take the time to look.

Clichés become clichés for a reason – they’re true. This week’s podcast analyzes the old cliché about “stepping out of your comfort box.” When you just do what you have always done and what you know best, you don’t get the chance to find out what you are truly capable of. Take a chance, try something new, something you are perhaps nervous or outright frightened to try related to your practice – attend a new networking group, take on a public speaking opportunity, start a new blog. Even if you fail, the odds are high you will learn something useful about yourself and your practice.

What’s a young lawyer to do? Every client says they want experience but if you have just started your practice how do get those clients? What about if you are trying a new practice area but don’t have any successes in that area to tout? This week’s episode discusses ways you can build your practice while you develop the experience clients want. Focus on other areas – customer service, connectivity, price point. What’s important is that you be authentic and let the client know what value you can provide in place of experience. It takes time to get experience but there are things you can communicate to clients and provide to clients that are just as important as a long resume.

This week’s episode revolves around the need for expanding your network in order to get more referrals and a steadier stream of business. The hosts discuss how it may not be clear for some time that your networking events are paying off. Don’t expect that the first meeting you attend will produce results or that even every attempt you make at meeting new people will generate income. It takes time to develop trust and to have the people you meet think of you when an opportunity arises. That requires you to (a) stick to it and be authentic when doing it and (b) expand your networking efforts to have more than just one source of referrals.

While Oscar is enjoying a well deserved vacation with his wife, Scott goes solo hitting on a number of topics. We first discuss the outreach for “Master Your Law Practice” the networking group we are starting on June 29th. We then discuss how important it is to understand the needs of your clients and how your attitudes affect their decision to hire you. We finish up with a discussion about URL’s

Oscar and Scott discuss the networking group they are launching for Long Island attorneys. The 1st meeting of “Master Your Law Practice” will take place on June 29th at Seasons 52 in Garden City. Oscar and Scott discuss the beginnings of this idea and how it has grown into a different kind of legal networking group. They both are looking forward to sharing their experiences with other attorneys.

We have all gotten used to relying on our favorite tech aides – apps, calendaring programs, phone systems, etc. But what happens to our practices when they fail? In this episode Scott and Oscar talk about recent tech issues they have faced and how they addressed. They offer some insight and solutions to make sure that when a snafu happens your practice can rebound quickly. Two key points: (a) Find a good IT consultant that is available to help guide you when this happens and protect you from reoccurrence and (b) Back up regularly on a hard server and to the cloud to make sure that if your systems go down, you don’t lose too much work. We’re big advocates of legal tech but you need to have safety net in place because on occasion disaster strikes.

This week Scott and Oscar discuss how the same issues that cause Solo and Small Practices to fail are the same issues that affect Big Law. The top three things affecting Big Law being, below average performance, internal dynamics (no leadership, incompatible goals and lack of planning) and external dynamics (competitive pressure related to firms client base, not having access to new clients. The same issues that are of tantamount importance to solo and small firms

Oscar was invited to Otisville Correctional Institute by the Tribeca Film Festival to be a speaker at the screening of Gideon’s Army, which follows a number of public defenders and their interaction with their clients. Before the movie the inmates had extremely harsh opinions about the attorneys that represented them. After they watched the movie their opinions softened a bit and had a better understanding of the mindset of their defense attorneys. What everyone should take from this is that what representing a client means. That you are advocating, supporting and speaking on behalf of this person. And the most important thing for the client is communication. Letting them know the ins and out of their case. Not based on what you think but based on what your client needs.

Scott and Oscar continue their discussion about Scott’s presentation and attendance at Avvo’s annual Lawyernomics conference in Las Vegas. The talk focuses on SEO and recognizing where your practice is at - brand new practices don’t have the same needs and opportunities as mature growing practices. The focus must be on what can best improve your practice. Not everything will work for everybody. The hosts discuss the value of attending professional conferences to keep learning about what’s out there and new ways to develop a consistently successful practice.

One of the nice things about having “Rebooted” our practices and having started this podcast is the opportunity to share what we have learned with other attorneys. Avvo was nice enough to invite us to speak at their Lawyernomics conference in Las Vegas. Scott discusses some of what he learned including how all marketing should be done purposefully, how PR work has been folded into social media and your web presence and how Avvo believes the future of successful practices will rely on data driven metrics.

This week Scott and Oscar discuss how giving presentations can be an important part of your practice. Not only do they show that you are engaged in topics that effect your clients and show your authority but are also a good way to network meet other attorneys. Although you may not be able to picture yourself speaking in front of others and may be absolutely terrified by the prospect, it is like any other skill. At first you may be nervous and unsure of yourself but like anything else the more experience you get the more comfortable you will be. And the more comfortable you are the more confidence you will have. And always remember that when you give a presentation that the goal is to inform and enlighten, not to sell.

Not only do you have an obligation as an attorney to keep track of the changes in your area of law but you should determine if any changes can be a business opportunity for your practice. Scott discusses new changes in New York criminal law one that he believes may be an excellent opportunity to expand his practice and one that may have a detrimental effect. If you see an opportunity, you should have the mindset to create a niche practice from this new opportunity. And don't just wait for the clients to find you. Create new webpages, write about the topic and let you networking partners know you are handling cases in this new area.